Chain Reactions

Similar in style to Lynch/Oz, this is a candid conversation about one film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Five individuals are profiled with their thoughts and feelings about the film and what they believe the film's cultural impact and legacy are. The most notable of those guests profiled is Stephen King, however for me the most interesting is comedian, Patton Oswalt. I found his assessment to be the most robust and thought-out. Famous Japanese horror auteur Takashi Miike says that without seeing Texas Chainsaw, he wouldn't have become the filmmaker he is. Chain Reactions is not going to be for everyone. This is cinephile geek stuff. That said, it is a documentary about what art is and how the horror genre fits in. There are tons of references to other films, other directors, and visual artists - Hieronymus Bosch, Francis Bacon, etc. This isn't a documentary about the making of the film, although there are aspects of that which creep in. There are no cast or crew interviews, just five people talking about the film. I loved it. I confess that I did rewatch Chainsaw a few days prior to seeing this documentary. I'm not sure it's necessary but I think it gave me a deeper appreciation of the subject matter. Chainsaw is a tough film to sit through. Made in 1974, it remains one of the most terrifying and disturbing films ever made. This year, a year that has given us two harsh and scathing portraits of America - Eddington and One Battle After Another -  Chain Reactions' discussion of Chainsaw seems to fit right in. 

One Battle After Another

It's likely, from all the hype and reviews, to win the Oscar for best picture of the year. Cinephiles have been wetting their pants for Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie, One Battle After Another. I confess, I have not been his biggest fan. I have enjoyed some of his work (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) and loathed others (Punch Drunk Love and Inherent Vice). I LOVED Licorice Pizza. I thought it might be his best work to date. Next to it will stand this film, One Battle After Another. Like Eddington, it's a contemporary portrait of America in what I might classify as a Coen Brothers' style thriller-comedy. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, an explosives expert for a radical left wing revolutionary group The French 75. He raises a daughter on his own and has kept off the grid for 16 years until his nemesis, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) comes looking for Bob's daughter. Bob and Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro) go on a rescue mission to get Bob's daughter back. There is a ton to love in this film. Sean Penn's army walk, like he's had a pickle jammed up his ass, is fantastic. Benicio's "few small beers" line is great. And the best, DiCaprio trying to remember the password for the rendezvous point is one of the funniest things you will see all year (almost as good as him trying to manage the stairs in The Wolf of Wall Street). Is it the best film of the year? For me, no. I liked Eddington and Weapons more. However One Battle After Another will likely land in third place and is one of Anderson's best works. The car chase scenes are some of the best I've ever seen on film. Catch this now in theatres. 

Hopscotch

I acquired this Criterion DVD from Peter Thompson, the owner and operator of Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. I usually make several weekly pilgrimages to his store - you never know what film treasures you will discover. I had never heard of Hopscotch before, a film from 1980 starring Walter Matthau. When I think about Walter Matthau, I think of The Odd Couple and then I think of Grumpy Old Men. Then maybe a basset hound. I have never really thought of him as a leading man. Hopscotch has delightfully changed my view of the actor. He plays Kendig, an aging cold-war CIA agent who has been demoted from field work, interacting with his KGB counterpart, to doing paperwork at a desk. Ned Beatty plays his short, over zealous, petty boss who is the one responsible for Kendig's abrupt change in job roles. Kendig doesn't dig it and promptly goes AWOL. Let the fun begin. Kendig has a romance going with a woman from Vienna, played by Glenda Jackson, who sports a short hairdo like she belongs from the 60s. In fact, the whole film has a 60s vibe to it, rather than that of 1980. I loved it - it took me back to a different time. This was pure fun. Catch it on the Criterion Channel or go rent it from Peter at Movies N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

Night Always Comes

If you look around most cities across North America, you will see the disparity of the growing economic divide compounded by the opioid crisis in the form of tent cities. Drug-addicted and broke - a sea of broken and desperate people. Petty crime and violence are always just at an arm's length away. Welcome to the world of Night Always Comes. John Cassavetes might be the godfather of grunge, but directors like Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, American Honey, Bird), Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project, Red Rocket), and the Safdie brothers (Goodtime, Uncut Gems) have brought slumming-it to the next level. Night Always Comes ranks up there with this lot - maybe the bottom of the top, but the top nonetheless. What's it all about? Vanessa Kirby plays Lynette, a woman who is trying to purchase her rental home for herself and her brother who has Down's Syndrome (played by Zack Gottsagen (The Peanut Butter Falcon) who really does have Down's Syndrome). The clock is ticking for Lynette, she only has less than 24 hours to gather the money for the down payment otherwise their house, their home, is going to another bidder. Lynette's mother Doreen lives with them (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). Doreen is the opposite of helpful. So the race to get money is on, everything on the line, and Lynette will do unsavory things to get it. Night Always Comes has an Uncut Gems/Anora manic energy about it and I was glued to it. We are living in dark times and this film reflects that. Catch it now streaming on Netflix. 

The Long Walk

Before The Hunger Games, there was The Long Walk, penned under Stephen King's other writer name, Richard Bachman. Televised sporting events where participants fight to the death seem to almost be a dystopian sub-genre or maybe you're just watching a Gladiator movie? Regardless, The Long Walk seems to be set in a fictional 1950s/1960s where America looks like, well today, economically depressed, at least for the working class. How to inspire the country to work hard? Show them a bunch of teenaged boys (50, one per state) walking, walking until there is only one left. The winner gets one wish and a ton of money. The catch, if you fall below 3 mph, you get a warning - a few warnings, then you are shot dead. It's walk or die, with no end, until there is only one left. It's riveting. It's slow and terrifying and I found myself getting rather emotional at times. The amazing cast is lead by Cooper Hoffman (Ray) and David Jonsson (Pete). Every single actor in this is great. Mark Hamill plays The Major. The colours of this film are washed out, greys and browns - it felt like something out of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, with a kind of post WWI depression-era sensibility to it. Big open skies and roads. Walk or die.  March yourself over to the cinema and catch this marathon of terror, now playing. 

The Conjuring: Last Rites

This marks the 4th and potentially last film in The Conjuring series (not to mention the Annabelle and The Nun spin offs, each with multiple entries of their own - The Conjuring Universe). Although this horror franchise seems to be doing well because they keep making them - conjuring up money I say - so you never know if it's really over (one last jump scare, a few more dollars, eh?). Take my money! I have loved them all, at least The Conjuring films. The chemistry between Lorraine and Ed Warren (played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) is undeniably great - I would watch another four Conjuring films! So, is Last Rites any good? I'm biased but of course it is! It's great! Maybe the best since the first. Ignore the Rotten Tomatoes score! Pay no attention. What's this one all about? Well the Warrens have a daughter, Judy (Mia Tomlinson) and she seems to have inherited her mother's powers to perceive unwanted spirits. A family needs help but Ed's heart isn't good, so he shouldn't be fighting ghosts - doctor's orders. But hey, this family really needs help and The Warrens, well they don't run from a fight. Sinks of blood, haunted mirrors, axe wielding ghost farmers, creepy dolls, and a bunch of other ghoulish nonsense to get us ready for the Halloween season ahead. Exorcism fun for the whole family. Grab some popcorn, the body of Christ, and some holy water and catch this entity in theatres now. Rent it from Movies N' Stuff in Ottawa when it becomes available.     

Caught Stealing

Darren Aronofsky is a director I truly admire. His film, Requiem for a Dream is on my list of films to see before you die. I would say any film nerd worth their weight in salt has a healthy respect for the man. His contemporary, Christopher Nolan has achieved more success, more notoriety, than Aronofsky, or at least it seems that way to me. However for me, (I'm about to use a geeky Star Trek analogy) Nolan's films feel like they were directed by Mr. Spock (cold and mathematical). Whereas Aronofsky's films feel like they were directed by Leonard McCoy (passionate, jaded, with a chip on his shoulder). I love Spock with all my being, but McCoy, damn it, well he just might be my favourite. Back to the review!

What's it all about? Caught Stealing is a crime caper very much in the wheelhouse of such directors as Guy Ritchie, the Coen Brothers, and Quentin Tarantino - a fast paced action thriller with lots of seedy gangsters milling about. Austin Butler plays Hank, a once high school baseball prodigy destined for the big leagues, only to have an injury sideline his career. Now he is a bartender and a drunk who is dating Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Hank's mohawk sporting punk neighbour, Russ (Matt Smith - of Dr. Who fame, who is wonderful here) suddenly has to leave town and gives his cat to Hank to look after. This is when the bad guys show up and the madness ensues. There have been tons of these mistaken identity type things, a fish out of water mad-capped crime comedies, but this one feels surprisingly fresh. And fun. I haven't enjoyed this type of film in what seems like forever. It's great. For Aronofsky, it's a departure from his dark art-house sadness. There is still plenty of seediness and a whole lot of crazy (Aronofsky trademarks) but it feels light and silly, albeit gruesome and violent at times. It reminded me of Martin Scorsese's After Hours. Caught Stealing is also full of great small performances by Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Carol Kane to name a few. Catch this foul ball of fun in theatres now.